Automatic stopping mechanism for elevators.



T. LARSSON.

AUTOMATIC STOPPING MECHANISM FOR ELEVATORS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 8, 1909. RENEWED NOV. 18, 1914.

1,127,032. Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1\ THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTO-LITHQ. WASHING I'ONv D A T. LARSSON.

v AUTOMATIC STOPPING MECHANISM FOR ELEVATORS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 8, 1909. RENEWED NOV. 18, 1914. 1,1 27,032, Patented Feb. 2, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

i I i THE NORRIS PETERS CO.v FHDTOLITHOIH WAiaHINu ION. P. c.

T. LARSSON.

AUTOMATIC STOPPING MECHANISM FOR ELEVATORS. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 8. 1909 RENEWED NOV. 18, 1914. 1 ,1 27,032.

Patented Feb. 2, 1915 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

TH E NORRIS PETERS c0,PHo1o-LITHO.. WASHINGI'ON. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE.

THURE LARSSON, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO" WILLIAM E. D. STOKES AND ONE-THIRD TO FREDERICK A. JONES, BOTH OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

Specification of Letters Patent.

AUTOMATIC STOPPING MECHANISM FOR ELEVATORS.

Patented Feb. 2,1915. 7

Application filed November 8, 1909, Serial No. 526,680. Renewed November 18, 1914. Serial No. 872,845.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THURE LARssoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Worcester, in the county of Vorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Automatic Stopping Mechanism for Elevators, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a new and improved automatic mechanism for gradually stopping an elevator at the ends of its travel either up or down.

The principal purpose of the invention is to provide an improved engaging mechanism between the car and a system of levers connected to the stop device which shuts oil and stops the power which causes the elevator to ascend or descend.

The invention has been particularly designed for use in connection. with hydraulic elevators of the plunger type but it will be obvious from the description hereinafter contained that the same may be applied to any type of elevator.

The invention consists of the parts and combinations of parts described in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying two sheets of drawings in which,

Figure l is a partial sectional view of a plunger elevator with improved mechanism applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a detailed view of the lever system employed at the bottom of the well for automatically stopping the car at the end of its downward travel. Fig. 3 is an elevation showing a modified form that may be used for said lever mechanism. Fig. 4- is a plan view illustrating the arrangement of sheaves for the controlling levers. Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are detailed elevations of the lever system employed at the top of the elevator well for stopping the elevator car at the limits of its upward travel. Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation on an enlarged scale of the valve mechanism showing the main valve, pilot valve and the automatic stopping valve.

The improvements will be best understood by a detailed description of the parts.

A cylinder A is sunk in the ground, which cylinder is of a length a little more than the travel of the elevator. This cylinder A has a stuffing box on its top end fitting and sliding in which is a plunger C which carries and supports the car or platform D which is fitted to run up and down on guides secured in the elevator well. Attached to the top of the car are counter-balancing cables E which are trained over sheaves F journaled at the top of the elevator well. Counterweights G are attached to the end of the cables E, which counter-weights are fitted to run up and down on ways secured to the side of the elevator well. A to-and-fro connection pipe H communicates with the cylinder A. When water under pressure is let into the to-and-fro pipe H the plunger is forced upwardly and the car ascends. When the to-and-fro pipe is connected to the exhaust, the weight of the car and plunger forces the water out of the cylinder and the car descends. When the flow in the to-and-fro pipe is prevented, the car and plunger are held stationary.

The valve arrangement consists of a main valve M, which controls the admission of water under pressure to the cylinder to cause the car to ascend, which controls the'flow of water from the cylinder to the exhaust to allow the car to descend and which stops the flow in the to-and-fro pipe to hold the car stationary. The main valve is shown in its central position so that the flow to or from the elevator cylinder is stopped and the car held stationary. The main valve is operated by a motor piston M, as shown in Fig. 8. The admission of'pressure on the right side of the motor piston causes the main valve to move to the left, as shown in Fig. 8, to allow the pressure to flow into the elevator cylinder and the connection of the exhaust with this side of the motor piston causes the main valve to move to the right to allow the elevator cylinder to connect to the exhaust.

The admission of pressure or exhaust to operate the motor piston M is controlled and regulated by a pilot valve P. The pilot valve is controlled by a rope mechanism operated by a lever in the car.

An automatic stop valve S is interposed between the main valve and the to-and-fro pipe H to stop the movement of the car automatically at the limits of its upward or downward travel. This automatic stop under a pulley L and is then carried up the elevator well and trained our a sheave N and connected to a take-up weight 0 mounted so as to be capable of a vertical movement in ways at the top of the elevator well. Another rope K is connected to the other end of the lever I and is trained over a pulley Q and under a pulley Q, and is then carried up the elevator well and trained over pulley R and connected to the, take-up weight 0. Pulleys L and Q are mounted on a stud fixed in one end of an arm T, and pulleys L and Q, are mounted on a stud fixed in the other end of the arm-T. The arm T is secured to a shaft U journaled in bearings on the bottom of the elevator car. A lever V is connected to the shaft U and is arranged to extend inside of the car or cage andto form the hand-operating or controlling lever by which the car attendant causes the car to go up or down or to be brought to a state of rest. This lever Vcooperates with a suitable guide arrangedinside of the car asshownQ A movement of the lever V to the left, as shown in Fig. 1,

- movesthe right-hand end of the lever I upwardly andthe left-hand end downwardly; A movement of the lever V to the right moves the" left-hand end of the lever I upwardly and the right-hand end downwardly. The. weight O is heavy enough to keep the ropes ,K and K under tension andto allow for any expansion or contraction thereof.

By this means the operator can operate the;

pilot valve through the following connectionsz-Forming part of the lever I, or secured on the shaft J of the lever I is a small lever 10 which connects by a link 11 to a floating lever 12, the upper end of which is'connected by a link 13 to the stem of the pilot valve P and the lower end of which is connected to the stem m of the main valve M. These connections form restoring means which operate as hereinafter described to restore the pilot valve to central or closed position after the main valve has moved in the proper direction and distance called for by the movement of the lever V. The pilot valve casing is mounted on top of the main valve casing. This pilot valve has three ports; the left-hand one a, as shown in Fig. 8, connects with the pressure chamber in the main valve; the right-handone b connects with the exhaust by an outside pipe X; and the middle one 0 connects with the rightof the stem p and the bushings are held in place by a nutthreaded on the end of the stem 7). The middle bushing is turned down so as to allow a reduced sectionor area between the two packings 1 and '15. The packings and bushings slide or op rate in a brass tubing t which is driven into the pilot valve casing and which has ports cut therein to communicate with the passages a, b and c. The brass tubing 25 is provided with stuffing boxes at both ends so that the bushings will work tightly therein.

hen the left-hand endof the leverI is moved downwardly as shown in Fig. '8, the lever 1.0 is moved to the left and link 11 pulls lever 12 to the left, which through link 13 movesv the pilot valvevto the left. This connects the passage Z through ports a and 0 to the pressure and the pressure'acting on the'motor piston'M moves the main valve to v the left and allows water under pressure to flow to the elevator cylinder to cause the car to go up. As this movement of the main valve takes place, the main valve stem m will pull the lever 12 which, turning on link 11 as a fulcrum, will draw the link 13 and pull the pilot valve back to the right to its central or neutral position.

WVhen the left hand end of the lever I, as

shown in Fig. 8, is moved upwardly back to the position from which it was moved downwardly to cause the car to ascend, thelever 10 will be rocked to the right and the pilot valve through link 11, lever 12 and link 13 will be movedto the right which will connect passage Z to the exhaust passage X I through ports 7) and 0. This will allowthe main valve to move to the right until it comes back to its central .or closed position,

as shown in Fig. 8. As this action takes place the link 12 turning on link 11 as a fulcrum will restore the pilotvalve to central position. I

If it is desired to cause the car to go down,the lever 10 is rocked to the right from its central position. which will move I the pilot valve to the right and again cause the main valve to move to the r ght to connect the to-and-fro pipe H to the exhaust. A movement of the lever 10 backto the position shown in Figs. 1 and 8 will cause the main valve to move back 'to its central position. The operation of these connections causes the main valve to move to the right or to the left in the same ratio that the pilot valve is moved to the right or t the left,

and then res ores the pil t val e 'to its central or neutral positirn so that the mo e- 'ment of the main valve corresponds exactly with the movement of the lever 10 or with the movement of the lever Vin the car.

The main valve consists of a sliding tube (Z screwed on the end of the main valve stem m. A bushing e is arranged on the tube (Z and is held in place thereon by a reduced tube 7 engaging the right-hand end of which is the motor piston M, the parts being held in position by a nut g threaded on the valve stem at and pressing the parts up against a shoulder in formed on the lefthand end of the main valve tube (Z. Connected to the main valve casing is a pressure pipe 2'- and the exhaust pipe j and a to-andfro passage W leads from the main valve casing and connects to the to-and-fro pipe H through the automatic shut-0H valve S hereinafter described.

Arranged between the motor piston M and the reduced bushing f is a packing 16. Arranged between the reduced bushing 7 and a shoulder on the bushing e is a packing 17. Arranged between the bushing e and the shoulder h on the tube (Z is a packing 18. piston to fit tightly to the main valve casing and the packings 17 and 18 cause the main valve to work tightly. The'packing 16 works in a brass bushing 140 driven on the righthand end of the main valve casingand the packings 17 and 18 work in a brass bushing 150 driven in the left-hand end of a valve casing. Ports 7a are cut in this bushing 150. The tube (i is bushed with brass and runs on a piston 19 which is secured to a stem 20 which is threaded into a cap or head a secured to the left-hand end of the valve casing. Pressure is admitted through openings 21 into the reduced bushing f and'through openings 22 in the main valve tube (l into the space 23 at the right of the piston 19. The piston 19 is made smaller than the motor piston M. By this arrangement, when pressure is let on the right of the motor piston M the main valve will be moved to the left, the water in the space 23 being forced through openings 22 and 21 back into the pressure. When the space at the right of the motor piston M is connected to the exhaust, the pressure on the left of the motor piston M will move the same to the right, the space 23 filling up through passages 21 and 22. The motor piston M and the piston 19 thus form in effect a differential piston for giving the proper movements to the main valve. The packings l7 and 18 are arranged so that when the main valve is in its central positirn, the ports will not be connected with either pressure or exhaust, as packings 17 and 18 will inclose the ports and so that when the main valve movesto the left from the position shown in Fig 8, pressure will flow through the main valve from pipe 2', and so that when the main valve is moved The packing 16 causes the motor,

to the right from the position shown in Fig. 8, the exhaust pipe j will be connected to the passage W.

The details of the valve are not claimed in this application for patent owing to the classification adopted in the Patent Office, but the same are claimed in a companion application filed by me Nov. 8, 1909, Serial No. 526,679. r

The automatic stop valve S consists of a casing 24 secured on the top of the main valve casing. A brass tube Z is driven in the same. Ports 25 are cut therein opposite the pipe W and ports 26 opposite the toand-fro pipe H. The stop valve consists of a tube 8 which has shoulders fitting against which are valve heads (7 and 1' held in place by collars u and u. A packing 27 is arranged between the valve head and the collar u and a' packing 28 is arranged between thevalve head 1" and the collar u.

Stems 29-29 are secured to the ends of the tube 8 by collars 290, which collars are threaded on the ends of the tubes 8 and which have shoulders to hold the collars u and u in position. These stems project out through stufiing boxes '0 secured to heads attached to the ends of the stop valve casing 2-1 and balance the valve hydraulically. v

The operating mechanism hereinafter described may be connected to either stem 29-29 as the exigencies of the location demand. In the drawings the mechanism is shown as connected to the left-hand stem 29.

Holes 30 are arranged in the collars 290v so that the stop valve can move freely back and forth in the casing. Spring-pressed check valves 31-31 are arranged to cover openings in the tube 8, the check valves being arranged to close toward the tube. When the elevator is going up, pressure is flowing from the pressure pipe 2' through the downward movement, pipe W is connected through the main valve to the exhaust pipe 7'. Then the flow from the elevator cylinder will start through pipe H, through the right-hand openings 30 through the center of the tube 8 and out through the check valves 31-3l which will open to allow this How to start. As the elevator starts on its downward movement the stop valve will be moved to its central or inoperative position shown in Fig. 8, by the automatic mechanism hereafter described, and when thecar is fully on its downward movement, Water will flow from *pipeI I through movement of the car, water will then flow through the left-hand openings 30, the center of the tubes and out through the check valves 31-31 into pipe This will allow the car to' start on its upward travel and as this travel takes place, the automatic mechanism hereinafter described will restore the shut-off valve to its normal central inop- 'erative position shown inFig. 8. Thus the automatic valve will check and stop the elevator at the limits of its run either up or down but will allow the elevator to start in the opposite direction after itv has been I stopped "by the automatic 'valve. It also will be seen that this automatic stop valve can be easily manufactured as the same has to be bored forvbut one diameter.

The automatic mechanism for operating and controlling the stop valve is arranged as follows A lever 32 is mounted on a shaft journaled in bearings. secured to the top of thefvalve casing 24.', Secured on the ends of this shaft is a lever .33 which connects by a link 34 to one of the valve stems 29 of the shut-off valve. Connected to the ends of the lever 32 are rods 35 and 36 which are made in sections secured together by suitable couplings and which rods extend up at the side of the elevator well. The rods 35 and 36 are connected preferably at the couplings to ,T shaped levers 37 38 and 39' arranged at the bottom of the elevator well and turning on studs or shafts secured to supports or brackets g which are fastened to' the side of one of the guides z for the eleof the T-shapedlevers 37', 38 and 39 have bearing membersshown as rollers 'or shoes 40 arranged on their" ends. These downwardly extending armsof the TV-shaped levers stand at slightly different angles so that the shoe 40 on the upper lever 39 is farthest to the right, as shown in Fig. 2.

Arranged von the elevator car are two guide pieces 41 and 42, the space between which forms a cam-way inclined from the top of the car to the bottom-of the car toward the left. The ends of the guide pieces 41' and 42 are curved outwardly so that the inclined cam-,waywill have wide mouths toengage easily with the rollers or shoes 40.

At the top of theelevatorwell are arranged three similar T-shapedlevers 43, 44 and 45 which have similar rollers or shoes 40. These uppermost. levers are shown in their normal position inlFig. 6. As the car appreaches the upward limit of its run, the 1 inclined'cam-way first engages the shoe on the lever 45 and swings the same to the left. Before the cam-way leaves this shoe it engages the shoe on lever 44 and continues the left-hand movement ofthe shoes or rollthe cam-way engages the shoe on lever 43 and continues the left-hand movement of.

ers 40, and as the car goes still farther up,

mechanismis set, which is indicated in Fig. 1

.7- The principle of this motion is that after the first engagement of the cam-way with the shoe or roller on the lever 45, the cam takes up and engages the next shoe on the lever 44 before .itleaves the shoe on lever 45 and before/the cam-way leaves the shoe on lever 44 it engages the shoe on lever 43. By this engagement an easy continuedv rocking .mo-tion is given to the levers as the car approaches the limits of its 3 upward run and the parts can be j adjusted so that the stopping motion can take place;

in any desired movement of the elevator'car, say a thirty-foot movement. 7

As the car moves downwardly from its upward limit of travel, shown in Fig. 7

to a position where the cam-way progressivelydisengages the rollers or shoes on the lovers 43,44 and 45, the levers will be restored to normal position, as shown in Fig.6. I i ,3

As the car reachesthe bottom of its down- 'ward run, the lower mouth of the cam-way will first engagethe roller or shoe on lever 39 and will move the same to the right and thenq before leaving thefshoe on lever 39,

will engage the shoe. on lever-38 and will continue the right-hand movement, and then before. leaving the shoe on lever .38 will engage the shoe on lever 37 and will still continue the right-hand movement of the shoes or rollerswhich will bring the lever vat'or car. The downwardly extending arms '32 to the position shown in Fig. l.

The elevator car is shown at its lowest extreme in Fig. 1. As the car starts upwardlyfrom its lowest position, the camway will disengage progressively from the shoes on levers 37, 38 and 39 and will restore the operating system of levers to normal-position shown in Fig. 6. Thus a very simple mechanism is provided for operating theautomatic stop valve. Instead of using a single T-shaped lever, bell-crank levers 46 and 47 may be connected to the'system of rods 35 and 36. These bell-crank levers may be pivoted on a suitable support 48. The

downwardly extending ends of these levers may be connected .to a block 49 011 which may be arranged a shoe O shaped so that the inclined cam-way on. the elevator car faces and give an easy acting device, as the two levers will give a parallelmotion to the shoe. As many levers can be arranged at the top and bottom of the elevator well as desired so that any desired motion can be given to the lever 82. Thus a very eilicient mechanism is provided for operating the automatic shut-ofi valve.

The general design of the mechanism herein described has been to make all the parts simple, eiiicient, easy of repair and so that they can be manufactured in large lots and used interchangeably in different relative positionstomeet the different locations encountered in adapting the mechanism to diiierent plants.

The details and arrangements herein shown and described may be greatly varied by a skilled mechanic without departing from the scope of my invention as expressed in the claims.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Let tors-Patent is 1. The combination with the end run stopping device for an elevator, of a cam mounted on the car, and a series of shoes, each connected to the stopping device which the cam progressively engages and disengages as it approaches the end of the run, whereby the end run stopping device will be progressively operated.

2. An automatic mechanism for operating and controlling the end run stopping device of an elevator, comprising a cam on the car, and two series of shoes. one arranged at the top and the other at the bottom of the run, said shoes being connected to the stopping device and said cam being arranged to engage and disengage said shoes progressively.

3. An automatic mechanism for operating and controlling the end run stopping device of an elevator, comprising an inclined camway arranged on the car and a plurality of bearing members connected to the stopping device, said cam-way being arranged to engage and disengage said bearing members progressively.

4. An automatic mechanism for operating and controlling the end run stopping device of an elevator, comprising an inclined camway arranged on the car, a series of bearing members arranged at the top of the elevator well, and a series of bearing members arranged at the bottom of the elevator well, said bearing members being connected to the stopping device and said cam-way being arranged to engage and disengage said hearing members progressively.

5. An automatic mechanism for operating and controlling the end run stopping device of an elevator, comprising an inclined cam- Way on the car, a pair of rods extending up the elevator Well, and a series of'levers connected to said rods and carrying bearing members, said cam-way being arranged to engage and disengage said bearing members progressively.

6. An automatic mechanism for operating and controlling the end run stopping device ofan elevator, comprising an inclined camway on the car, a pair of rods extending up the elevator well, a series of levers connected to said rods at the top of the well, and a series of levers connected to said rods at the bottom of the well, said levers carrying bearing members and said cam-way being arranged to engage and disengage said shoes progressively.

7. An automatic mechanism for operating and controlling the end run stopping device of an elevator, comprising an inclined camway arranged on the car, brackets or supports arranged at the side of the elevator well, a series of levers carried by said supports, a pair of rods connected to the stopping device and to said levers, and bearing members carried by said levers, said camway being arranged to engage and disengage said bearing members progressively.

8. An automatic mechanism for operating and controlling the end run stopping device of an elevator, comprising an inclined camway having wide or open mouths. and a series of bearing members arranged at the to and the bottom of the elevator well which said cam-Way progressively engages and disengages.

9. An automatic mechanism for operating and controlling the end run stopping device of an elevator, comprising an inclined camwav mounted on the car, a pair of rods connected to the stopping device and extending vertically in the elevator well. a series of levers connected to said rods at the top of the well, another series of levers connected to said rods at the bottom of the well. and bearing members carried by said levers which the said inclined cam-way is adapted to engage and disengage progressively.

10. An automatic mechanism for operating and controlling the end run stopping device of an elevator, comprising an inclined cam-way arranged on the car. a pair of rods connected to the stopping device and extending vertically in the elevator well, and pairs of bell-crank levers connected to said rods arranged in series, the free ends of each pair of said levers carrying a shoe and the said inclined cam-way being arranged to engage and disengage said shoes progressively.

11. An automatic mechanism for operating and controlling the end run stopping device of an elevator, comprising an inclined cam-Way, a pair of rods connected to the stopping device and a series of levers stand ing at different angles and carrying bearing members Which saidinclined cam-Way en'- gages and disengages progressively.

12. An automatic mechanism for operating and controlling the end run stopping device of an elevator, comprising an'inclined' cam-Way carried by'the car,'a series of. supports connected to one of the guides forthe elevator car, series of levers mounted on said supports, apair of rods connected to the stoppingdevice and operated by said levers,

and bearmg members carried by said levers. with which the cam-Way progressively engages and dlsengagesco ies'for this patent may be obtained or 13. The combinat onwlth the end run stopping device for an elevator,rof a plucreasing effectiveness.

51% first one of sively engagingeach subsequent one of said members and moving it to cause thestopping device .to operate With gradually in- 14; The combination W1 ofmeans arranged at the top of the elevator Well in the path of the car, a series of means arranged at the bottom of the elevatorwell V in the path of the :car, all said means being connected to said stopping device, and

means carried by the car for engaging the first one of each of said serles and movlng and for engaging each subsequent one and moving it to operate the stopping device to a greater degree as the carreaches the limit of itsrun in either direction.

th an end'runfi stopping device for an elevator, of a series In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of tWo subscribing W tnesses.

THURE LARSSON. Witnesses: a

E. M. ALLEN, C. FORREST Wnsson.

five Cents a h; by addressing the donimissioner'of Patents, Washington, D. G. r I

- it to start the stoppingv device into operation 

